Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe

This easy Chicken Biryani recipe is a dish I actually have fumbled with a few times. The mixture of chicken that’s been browned in the skillet before cooking down with the liquids until it is meltingly soft. You’ll find your rice is fluffy and soft with tender bites of chicken throughout.

This biryani is easier than most, no whole spices being toasted and ground. No red curry paste or ginger garlic pastes are needed. The resulting flavors are incredibly delicious and addicting.

What to serve with chicken biryani:

What kind of rice is used in vegetable biryani:

A classic biryani is made using basmati rice. This rice is thinner and longer than a traditional long grain rice.

How do you make chicken biryani?

First you brown the chicken and onions. Then some grated tomato is added to the chicken and liquids before cooking down until soft and fluffy. The rice is traditionally made using ghee (clarified butter) along with onions, garlic and ginger.

Why is biryani rice yellow?

The yellow coloring in the rice comes from the use of turmeric along with other spices. These spices are added into the dish before the uncooked rice is mixed in.

The best way to reheat chicken and rice dishes:

Add the mixture to a microwave safe bowl and cover with an almost dripping wet paper towel draped over the bowl or plate. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes.

Tools used in the making of ChickenBiryani:Basmati Rice: The perfect rice for the biryani, do not substitute long grain rice.Cast Iron Dutch Oven: I used to fry in my cast iron skillet, but this dutch oven is perfect for cooking the vegetables and rice, maintaining heat without any hot spots that may burn the food.

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About the Author

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

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? for someone who hates cooking I just made it so easy my friend version she puts a lot canola of oil. I like this version same taste. Wish there is a button to upload photo. (Double the recipe was a big hit)

Slice a thin round off the bottom of each tomato. Starting at cut end, grate tomatoes on the largest holes of a grater over a medium bowl until all that’s left is the flattened tomato skin and stem. Hope this helps!

I made this with chicken breast, the flavors were good but somewhat diluted. I spiced up with a (home made) Kasundi chutney on the side to spice it up. Felt there was way, way, way too much rice. The next time I would use only one cup of rice, two cups of stock. The spice mixture is good, but too diluted through the rice.

I love this dish and the simplicity of it! My resident Indians/Pakistanis (fiancé and his mother) have informed me that this isn’t actually Biryani though. It’s called Ukni or Plow, depending on which language you’re speaking in. Traditional Biryani has the rice cooked separately from the protein/other ingredients. Then it’s layered in the pot, alternating rice & protein/other ingredients. Finally, the top layer of rice is topped with a few drops of yellow food coloring (I think that’s weird, but that’s what they do!). Biryani is also dryer than this dish. Anyway, I really like this and when I make this what they tease me as “white girl Biryani,” everyone gobbles it up! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

It would very cool and useful to list an approximate cost to make this dish. I rarely see that anywhere. I for one disdain to find out that I cannot afford the ingredients after going to whole foods the entire drive with my mouth watering! Just a thought! Now I’m hungry, darn take out again! Thanks for all you do! Namasté ??REV.PAX•LISI, PhD. M. D.

Shopping at “Whole Paycheck” might be the problem. 😉 This dish is very inexpensive; rice is super cheap as are chicken thighs. If you have an International store as a shopping option nearby, or anything other than WF, then that would be a more economical bet. House of Spices (hosIndia.com) has 7oz bags of these spices for $2 a bag. They seem to last forever even if you do a lot of Indian cooking like I do. I calculated this recipe and come up with less than $9 for the pot, a little cheaper if you use EVOO instead of ghee. But you can expect to double or triple that if you shop at WF. The $9 estimate is also with these adjustments: 4 cloves of garlic, 1 inch of ginger, 1 greenhouse tomato, and only 1/4 teaspoon garam masala (most recipes call for this amount, but this one is very heavy in this spice), and no cinnamon (it’s already in the garam masala; don’t need more). Tip: toss the garlic, ginger, and tomato in a mini food processor to save time and gadgets. This really makes a ton of food; my family of 4 eats it, and then I usually freeze half of it and pull it out a few months later for another dinner. Don’t forget to make some red onion Raita to go with it!

I made this last night. Great easy recipe, but I felt that the cinnamon was quite strong for me personally, I would go with 1/4th tsp next time and I also thought it was a little bit bland (but I personally like it to be spicy) so I added a pinch more of each spice and it turned out very nicely.

I’d like to try this but I’m curious, is the basmati rice you add to the pot precooked? I notice that once you add it you only cook for an additional 18-20 minutes but basmati takes 45 minutes to make properly…

I grew up eating biryani, but never made it myself before. This recipe hits the spot! The only thing I slightly altered was that I used low-sodium chicken broth in place of regular broth, and the dish was still full of the flavors of my childhood. Thanks for the wonderful recipe, Sabrina!

I made this today; I didn’t have any bell peppers or coriander on hand, so I just left them out. Also, I pre-seasoned my chicken thigh pieces with a bit of onion powder and granulated garlic. Delicious!

Having a husband who can no longer eat tomatoes I’m trying to find tasty recipes I can adapt. I noticed this doesn’t have a lot of tomato so, to help me replace the tomato, are you able to tell me the purpose of the tomato. Eg, is it there for colour or to provide a bit of sweet & sour taste etc.

The tomatoes add moisture to the recipe and it’s really an important part of flavoring as well. I’m not sure what to use as a substitution without completely changing the recipe. I’ve never tested it so I’m not comfortable giving a recommendation. So sorry.